Winter Vespa Riding

Winter riding holds different meanings for different riders. For some it is the epitome of idiocy and others the cold reality of daily transportation. I’ve ridden my Vespa through several winters and have refined my own limits and sensibilities in a range of cold-weather conditions.

I’ve compiled stories and pictures posted over the past couple years for anyone interested in venturing out in the cold on two wheels. It may not be for everyone but with a few modifications to gear and riding habits you may find that you can extend your riding season. You may even find an unexpected enjoyment.

Feel free to post questions if you have them. If I can’t answer them directly someone else may or I can point you in the right direction for an answer.

Below are links to some of the more interesting posts about winter riding:


Error in Judgment
Making a questionable choice in riding home from work.

Decision Time: Snow is Falling
Struggling to decide if it is safe to ride home from work.

11 Degree Fahrenheit Commute
The routine of riding to work in really cold weather.

Just Another Ride to Work
When the weather changes unexpectedly and you need to ride home.

Watch for Ice
Adjusting mentally for cold weather challenges.

Bringing Home the Christmas Tree
A holiday tradition of bringing home the Christmas tree on the back of a Vespa GTS.

Hauling a Christmas Tree by Vespa
The first Christmas tree brought home on my Vespa LX150.

Only Idiots Ride in the Snow
Deciding what your winter riding limits should be.

A Thankful Rider

I don’t need to ride to know I have much for which to be thankful. Riding this morning it seems as if the world has gone away, the roads and intersections empty.

 Standing alone on the pavement I am thankful for family and friends. Holding the cold camera in my bare hands makes me grateful for a warm bed and home.  

A sip of hot tea at Starbucks reminds me I have never been hungry or without money in my pocket. Today there are no complaints (even though my Vespa fell over in a muddy field a short time ago). I give thanks for the spiritual and material wealth I have received. 

To each of you I wish a safe and happy Thanksgiving Day.

Temporary Halt in Riding

The view down the street. It’s like this every morning. Or so it seems. Frigid, icy, non-riding friendly. The road thumbing its nose at me, daring me to give it a go. I haven’t taken the bait. My Vespa sits patiently in the garage. I exaggerate when I say every morning is like this. I have managed to ride to work a few times. The cold does play tricks though and it’s already getting to me. The past few winters have been mild and much of the time the roads have been clear. Now in mid-November there’s this.

As I said it hasn’t been bad all the time these last couple weeks. One day last week it was sunny and clear and I rode to work even though the thermometer read 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold but perfectly reasonable riding conditions with the road dry. I stopped on the way to work to make a panorama picture near Beaver Stadium. The perspective in the picture makes it hard to accept it is the second largest stadium in the country seating just over 107 thousand people.

Since making that picture the weather has gotten more oppressive and the roads have been less than perfect. I choose my rides after a walk down the street and a quick look at the weather. For now though I'll just have to wait for dry pavement.

The Seduction of Riding Through Curves

If the reaper was standing at every curve perhaps fewer riders would find their way off the road or into the path of an oncoming vehicle. At least that's what I was thinking when I saw this reaper around Halloween. On smooth, dry, pavement the tires feel stuck to the road and any maneuver seems possible, reasonable. More experience on two wheels seems to be followed by more throttle and all wrapped up in feelings of perfect skill and perfect lines. I wonder if it is during these moments of perfect thinking that riders find their way towards oblivion? Or maybe it's something much simpler and direct, a patch of gravel or a distracting thought. Whatever it is curves sing a siren song to riders and there isn't a mast to tie yourself to on a scooter or motorcycle.

Skill development works best when you practice. It is important though to have some basic understanding of the nature of the machine and how best to apply some fundamental techniques. I don't know about you but I'm no expert and require ongoing thought and practice to keep my skills at the level necessary to manage risk on the road. And even the things I think I have learned I seem to forget or ignore at times so ongoing reminders are in order. With the Web it is pretty easy to find information and I have found a few pieces that I revisit from time to time. You may know of others.

For me, there is no better source of serious writing on skill development and application than through some of the thoughtful posts on Musings of an Intrepid Commuter by Dan Bateman. Dan is a motorcycle safety instructor with Team Oregon, a national leader in motorcycle safety training, and a fine writer and teacher via his blog. And if you follow for very long you'll realize he is not your average rider.

As I looked at this picture for the past couple weeks I started thinking about riding in curves, training, practice, and all those things it is easy to overlook or check off as "done". And then I thought about Dan's posts that I reread and reread and thought I would share them here for anyone interested in keeping the learning curve moving upwards. If the weather is slowing your time on two wheels it may be the right time to pay Dan a visit!

Riding in Curves
Part One
Part Two

Keeping Your Head Up and Eyes Looking Out While Riding

How Good is Good Enough?
Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Fall Panorama Fever

I have nothing to share other than a mild obsession with panorama images made with the PhotoMerge tool in Photoshop. I’m like a little kid who stumbles across a curious toy and plays with it over and over and over again until it looses its attraction. Combine the obsession with the panorama friendly turns and curves in the central Pennsylvania mountains and you end up with me posting panorama after panorama. I promise that I will move on soon.

The picture above was made on Rock Road which runs along Spring Creek, a trout stream of some note. I’ve twice seen bicyclists wipe out on this curve because they underestimate the curve, the reverse banking, and the frequency of gravel in the road.

This picture was made on the way up Purdue Mountain and is typical of the long sweeping turns as roads make their way up towards the ridge tops.

This photo along Unionville Pike is nearly a 180-degree turn. Lots of cool roads like this to make pictures of. And ride on.

I always wonder what kind of roads others get to ride on.

Ride to Vote

The 2008 Presidential Election is almost here. John McCain and Barack Obama have been campaigning for nearly two years in hopes of becoming the 44th President of the United States. Our economy is struggling and turmoil grows around the planet. Our next president will have their hands full from the moment they step into the Oval Office. McCain and Obama have been doing their part. Now it is time for us to do ours and vote.

Voting is a part of our collective responsibility as citizens and I urge you embrace it on November 4th. Regardless of your political viewpoint or interests it is important for all our elected officials to know that they have us, the voters, to deal with.

And Election Day offers riders an opportunity to speak out as well by riding to your polling places and voting, gear and all, as citizen riders. The Ride to Work organization is asking riders across the country to show their neighbors the existence, value, and utility of riding as a form of transportation. Check out the Ride to Vote site for more information.

Safe riding!